Ain’t Much to Rake Anyway in the Fall

Oh, how I wish that were true. Our yard is covered in leaves, which makes the little and large dog presents even harder to spot. I’m not walking around in the yard much these days.

In dog language, apparently “outside” means “squirrels.” When I open the door to the deck, the dogs scramble to leave the house and leap off the deck, dashing toward one of the trees in our yard. They think there are squirrels up there every time, but it’s only happened once or twice. Last week, there was a squirrel in the other tree, but they didn’t notice because they were too busy circling the trunk of the empty tree. Their enthusiasm is amusing, though.

I took Otis to his first obedience class last night, and it went much better than I expected. He didn’t snarl, growl, bark, or lunge at anything or anyone. I was so proud. Next week, he could change his mind, but that’s why we’re going– to work on any behavioral issues that might pop up spontaneously. 

My friend Nicole and her dog Molly are also attending, so that’s fun. We hadn’t met each other’s dogs before last night. Molly is a sweet Lab mix, and she looks a little like a cow. She’s white with large brown spots, and part of her belly is pink so it almost looks like an udder. She and Otis exchanged sniffs and got along well. Otis was very amiable and happy to sniff and be sniffed by all the dogs. 

There are eight of us in the class. In addition to Otis and Molly, there are two black Lab mixes, a Springer Spaniel, a Weimaraner, a Norwegian Elkhound, and a small black and tan dog. (We’re trying to figure out if it’s a Doberman mix or a Puggle. Either way, it’s cute.)

I was relieved that there were other larger dogs in the class (although I knew of at least one). It will be a good chance for Otis to socialize and work on his manners, and it will be a good chance for me to work on my training skills. 

Otis did really well with commands. He already knows “sit,” and he picked up “stand” and “come” quickly. He’s so attentive when I have treats, although his attention span (like Zoe’s) starts to fade around 30 or 40 minutes into the class. 

For this week, we have to practice saying our dogs’ names in high-pitched, enthusiastic voices and rewarding them with treats when they look at us. We’re also reinforcing the other commands. 

I practiced with both of them this evening, but it’s hard to practice the name game when both dogs are following your every move already, hoping they’ll be rewarded with something tasty. The trainer recommended Natural Balance food rolls, which look like summer sausage. They’re reasonably priced, they’re easy to cut up into small pieces, and they’re better for the dogs than the processed treats. 

 

We're cute! Give us things!

While we were at class, Tim took Zoe to the dog park for the first time. She really enjoyed it. Of course, the first thing she did was take off after another dog, and Tim hoped there weren’t any deer nearby. Zoe came right back, though, and she had a good time exploring the new area and meeting other dogs. So she wasn’t deprived while Otis was gone, although she was a little whiny when they got home and we hadn’t returned yet. 

Zoe made up for it by taking over Tim’s side of the bed for the first few hours of the night, then mine early this morning. She’s very sneaky about it. She waits until our defenses are down and we’re too sleepy to protest. Otis just curls up into a compact ball at the end of the bed and warms my feet.

Rash Decisions

After the Boxer Walk, we noticed that Otis had a rash, in a very awkward place.

Before I placed the call to the vet, I debated what I should say. “Hi, Otis has a rash on his junk. What should we do?” I ended up telling them he had a rash on his stomach, but later realized I could have just said “groin” with no problem.

We brought him into the clinic on Thursday. It’s weird that we’ve been to the clinic twice and he still hasn’t met Dr. J. (Not that I’m looking for extra reasons to bring him in, though.)

He’s gained a few pounds since we got him, but not too much (we don’t want to strain his joints and muscles with adding too much mass). He’s up to a healthy 58 pounds and his ribs aren’t as prominent. The staff at the clinic commented that he’s filled out nicely.

I talked to one of the vet techs about his behavior during the dog walk, and she said that it’s pretty common, and that obedience classes would help. She also said that dogs are like people– some of them you immediately get along with, and others you’d rather avoid. So we’ve signed him up for obedience classes beginning next week. It’s something I’d put off for a while, but it’s a little more urgent now.

The vet (Dr. C) theorized that Otis got into some tall weeds during the walk, and he prescribed some clear liquid and ointment to apply directly to the rash, along with some prednisone.

As we were waiting to check out, an adorable 3-month-old bulldog puppy toddled out from one of the exam rooms. He and Otis sized each other up, then proceeded to gently wrestle for the next 10 minutes. I was relieved to see him interacting normally with another dog after the previous week’s events. They were so sweet together, and it was so much fun to watch.

Zoe really missed Otis while he was gone. My husband came home from grocery shopping and after he let her out of her crate, she dashed through every room in the house to see if Otis was there. She sat in the living room window and whimpered occasionally until we came back.

I took Zoe to the clinic on Saturday to pay an outstanding item on the bill, and to borrow their scale. I was surpised to see she was 73 pounds (down about 4 pounds from last time), because I’d been concerned she was gaining weight.

Even though we were gone for only a half hour, Otis missed Zoe too. He let his concerns be known through various vocalizations until we returned. And then they resumed wrestling in the back yard and fighting over toys for the rest of the day.

Otis’s junk rash has been responding nicely to the treatment. Within a day, it began to clear up, and it’s barely noticeable now. We’re still keeping him on the prednisone, because we need to taper off the dose (1 tablet each day for 5 days, and 1 tablet every other day for the next 10 days). I haven’t noticed him eating or drinking (or peeing) excessively, which surprised me considering our previous experiences with it, but that’s OK.

Otis and Zoe, taking over the bed

Walk for Boxers

On Saturday 9/27, we participated in MN Boxer Rescue’s annual Walk for Boxers. The walk was held in Plymouth, so we herded the two dogs into the car for the long ride over. At first they were excited, but after about five minutes, the whimpering began.

We arrived, and Otis christened the park immediately in two ways. We registered and got yellow ribbons to attach to the collar of each rescue dog. We also got to walk first.

Otis and Zoe preparing to walk (photo courtesy of MN Boxer Rescue)

Before the walk, we hung out with a couple who had two white Boxers, one from rescue. The woman told us some pretty amazing stories of rescuing dogs while Zoe and Otis sniffed her dogs. They all got along well. Zoe wandered off to sniff a couple other dogs, and Otis started getting a little cranky.

During the walk, we passed a German Shepherd mix that was waiting patiently for all the Boxers to pass. Otis took exception to the dog, and then he went after Zoe a bit. His barks and growls were more aggressive than usual, so we isolated him from the other dogs and tried to calm him down.

As we were sitting with the two dogs, we saw Zoe’s foster dad Steve, and got a chance to talk to him a little. He helped with calming Otis too. They were fostering a new dog named Rocket, who was very sweet. We finished the walk and saw Susan, Zoe’s foster mom, and they had another happy reunion.

Zoe was sweet and affable and happy to sniff all the dogs she encountered. Otis, not so much. We joked that we had a cranky toddler who needed a nap, so we took off. Of course, both dogs slept all the way home.

Otis, using Zoe as a pillow